Woman injured in Hardin County wreck sues for damages from two uninvolved women

By Heather Nolan HNolan@BeaumontEnterprise.com (409) 880-0724

Updated 2:21 pm, Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Photo: Courtesy Of Hargraves Family

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Shelley Simon of Sour Lake was in a medically induced coma at a Beaumont hospital after her car was hit head-on by a driver going the wrong way on U.S. 69.

Shelley Simon of Sour Lake was in a medically induced coma at a Beaumont hospital after her car was hit head-on by a driver going the wrong way on U.S. 69.

Photo: Courtesy Of Hargraves Family

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This 2006 Hyundai Tucson driven by Shelley Simon was destroyed after it was hit head-on by a woman in a Chevy Malibu driving the wrong way on U.S. 69 in June. The woman driving the Chevy Malibu didn't have liability insurance according to officers at the scene. Photo provided the Hargraves family less

This 2006 Hyundai Tucson driven by Shelley Simon was destroyed after it was hit head-on by a woman in a Chevy Malibu driving the wrong way on U.S. 69 in June. The woman driving the Chevy Malibu didn't have ... more

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Ashley Denise Brown, 26, of Beaumont.

Ashley Denise Brown, 26, of Beaumont.

Photo: Enterprise Obituary Photo

Woman injured in Hardin County wreck sues for damages from two uninvolved women

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A woman who was seriously injured in a car accident in June has filed a lawsuit against two people connected to the woman said to have caused the accident, even though neither of those defendants was anywhere near the crash site.

Shelly Denise Simon, 41, is seeking damages - including past and future medical bills, lost wages, mental anguish, pain and physical suffering - from Cheryl Brown, acting on behalf of the estate of Ashley Brown, who died at the scene, and Ashleigh Henry.

Cheryl Brown is Ashley's mother. Ashleigh Henry is included as a defendant, the lawsuit claims, because she owned the 2001 Chevrolet Malibu Ashley Brown, 26, was allegedly driving south in a northbound lane of U.S. 69 on June 3 and "knew or should have known that Ashley Brown was a reckless driver and likely to cause an accident," according to the lawsuit.

Brown was pronounced dead at the scene after the Malibu caught fire and burned her body. She did not have liability insurance, Texas Department of Public Safety troopers who investigated the accident told The Enterprise in June.

Her body was too burned to order a toxicology report, DPS troopers said at the time.

In a case where someone is killed or serious injury is involved, the insurance policy limits are available, Beaumont State Farm Insurance agent Rocky Chapman said. But once the policy limits are reached, plaintiffs attorneys can sue the individual, he said.

Simon initially was taken to Christus St. Elizabeth Hospital in serious condition, and her family previously told The Enterprise that since Ashley Brown was uninsured, Simon would have to find a way to pay her medical bills once her uninsured motorist coverage dried up.

Chapman said Texas law requires all drivers - whether they own a car or not - to have automobile liability insurance. Drivers must present a copy of a liability insurance policy when they get their licenses renewed, he said.

Current state minimum liability limits are 30/60/25, according to the Texas Department of Insurance. That means the minimum coverage a person can buy will cover $30,000 for each injured person, up to a total of $60,000 per accident, and $25,000 for property damage. The coverage limits are the most an insurance company will pay, regardless of the actual costs, according to the state agency.

Chapman recommends drivers have adequate liability coverage, rather than just the minimum.

Most policies cover the car owner and anyone who drives that car, Chapman said, as long as they have permission.

In other words, if a person's car is stolen and ends up in a wreck that kills someone, the insurance company will not have to pay damages, he said. But if permission was granted, the legal landscape might get a little cloudy.

It is unclear how Henry and Brown are connected. Messages left at the office of Clay Dugas and Associates, the firm representing Simon, were not returned.